The Urbanist
Monocle’s guide to better cities. Explore urban innovation, cutting-edge infrastructure, and compact living with insights from planners, architects, and city leaders.
Latest Episodes
Tall Stories 287: La Villa Lumière, Lyon
Monocle’s Charlie Filmer-Court heads to Lyon where we hear the little-known story of one of cinema’s most important moments.
On the radar
We review a few stories that have caught our eye over the past few months: Auckland’s inaugural Climate Festival, Nordic Citymaking Week and a new collection that explores New York in haiku form.
Tall Stories 286: Tempelhofer Feld, Berlin
Madeleine Pollard tells the tale of one of Berlin’s most storied open spaces, which wears its aviation history on its sleeve.
Past and future
Today we bring you two major stories: a look at how the port of London has changed the fabric of the city and moulded the communities around it; and we dissect the plans for Amazon’s new headquarters, which it is hoped will invigorate a new area in the US.
Tall Stories 285: St John’s Cathedral, Hong Kong
Monocle’s Naomi Xu Elegant visits a historic church that sits on the only piece of freehold land in Hong Kong.
What are cities made of?
From concrete to timber and glass to steel, there are many facets that make up a city – but are all of them as obvious as they sound? This week we discuss the very action of city-building from the physical to the intangible.
Tall Stories 284: Lapinlahti Hospital, Helsinki
Monocle’s Petri Burtsoff tells us about a former hospital’s second life, which has been embraced and defended by citizens.
Climate migration
How is climate change affecting our migration habits? And are cities equipped to deal with the impending influx of migrants as urban displacement becomes more common?
Tall Stories 283: Mosaic Stadium, Regina
Monocle’s Sheena Rossiter takes a trip to the Saskatchewan capital to see the newly renovated Mosaic Stadium come alive.
How many minutes?
We weigh in on one of urbanism’s biggest buzzwords of the past few years, the 15-minute city, and assess a few alternatives.
